


Casual Observers: Moments of Absolute Clarity

by Browneyesparker



Series: Casual Observers [12]
Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Casual Observers, F/M, Family, Friendship, Moments of Absolute Clarity, Romance, Smarckle, girl meets world - Freeform, joshaya, some rucas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-23
Updated: 2015-10-23
Packaged: 2018-04-27 19:03:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5060365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Browneyesparker/pseuds/Browneyesparker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isadora Smackle did not know feelings really well. She did not know what they looked like when they were staring her right in the face but sometimes, in small shimmering moments of absolute clarity, she could tell what love looked like. When she saw Joshua Matthews with Maya Hart, those were one of those moments. It wasn’t anything big, there weren’t any fireworks or flashing lights. They were just staring at each other while Mrs. Matthews served them birthday cake and ice cream. But there was something in their faces, something that spoke of a little more than friendship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Casual Observers: Moments of Absolute Clarity

**.**

**Chapter 12**

 

_Moments of Absolute Clarity_

Isadora Smackle did not know feelings really well. She did not know what they looked like when they were staring her right in the face but sometimes, in small shimmering moments of absolute clarity, she could tell what love looked like.

When she saw Joshua Matthews with Maya Hart, those were one of those moments. It wasn’t anything big, there weren’t any fireworks or flashing lights. They were just staring at each other while Mrs. Matthews served them birthday cake and ice cream. But there was something in their faces, something that spoke of a little more than friendship.

She turned to Farkle Minkus, her unspoken interrupter for the world around her and looked at him with questioning eyes. “Are they. . .”

“Sort of but not really,” Farkle answered his voice low in her ear. “Maybe someday.”

“They have an understanding then?” Isadora asked.

Farkle nodded. “A not so secret understanding. Everybody knows what’s going on between them. Except for Riley.”

“Really?”

“She prefers to live in denial,” Farkle replied. “Because Joshua is her uncle and if he were to marry Maya that would make her Riley’s aunt.”

Isadora nodded. “Yes, I could see how that would be very awkward for her.”

“But she’ll come around.”

“She will? How can you be so sure?” Isadora asked.

“You know Riley,” Farkle answered patiently. “She just wants the best for her friends and family. If Joshua is the absolute best for Maya and Maya is the absolute best for Joshua then she’ll come around because that is just the kind of person she is. She always puts others happiness before her own.”

“But it could be argued that Joshua and Maya getting together would do nothing to hinder her happiness. Now if Lucas and Maya were together that might be a different story entirely,” Isadora pointed out, smiling triumphantly at her understanding for another thing that had to do with matters of the heart.

“That is true,” Farkle agreed with her.

**.**

She was by herself at the library studying for a huge test when she saw them huddled together in the quiet corner she usually claimed as her own to study in. Joshua was quietly reading to Maya from a volume of poetry. They were so absorbed in what they were doing, Isadora was almost certain that they wouldn’t notice her watching them while she pretended to skim an autobiography about Barbra Streisand.

 _“I’ll love you with every little bit of everything that has ever consumed me and I will forever love you and forever find you in every lifetime and so on. Until the stars die out and the universe leaps but even then, my love will remain,”_ Joshua whispered, looking at Maya instead of the book in his hands, like he knew the words by heart.

Isadora turned her head to look at her friend, the not-so-secret understanding between Joshua and Maya was more obvious than ever. His coded confession of love for her hung in the air between them, something that wouldn’t be addressed until another day.

She slammed _Hello, Gorgeous_ shut and pushed it back on the shelf, deciding to hightail it out of there and find a new place to study before the pair realized that she was there. She didn’t want them to think she had been spying on them even though that was exactly what she had been doing in the first place.

Sort of.

It wasn’t her fault that they had been sitting in _her_ favorite spot in the library. It wasn’t _her_ fault that Joshua and Maya were completely fascinating to everybody in their lives.

It wasn’t _her_ fault but she didn’t think they would understand _that_.

**.**

She didn’t see them again for a few months because she didn’t always hang out with Farkle and his friends as much as she would have liked to but she was forever occupied with other things. So, when Farkle asked her to be his date to the winter formal with his mother’s society group, Isadora _jumped_ on the opportunity to do so.

She arrived with Farkle in the specially ordered limo for the evening and he helped her out of it, the perfect date. She saw Maya standing on the stairs in a thrift store fur coat and paste diamonds from Charming Charlie’s, pacing the length of the entrance in Christmas red shoes like she was waiting for somebody.

Isadora looked at Farkle.

“She’s waiting for Joshua,” Farkle answered.

“First date?”

Farkle rolled his eyes. “More like the dozenth of many _fake_ dates,” he replied. “They’re still the two biggest pretenders in the whole entire world.”

“Oh.”

“Come on,” Farkle said, weaving his arm through her’s. “We don’t have to worry about them tonight. They can pretend all they want to.”

They both stopped short when Joshua whizzed past them, his gray wool dress coat flapping out behind him as he ran to meet Maya.

“Sorry I’m late!” He said, stopping short in front of her. “I was studying and I lost track of time!”

Maya shook her head and smiled in relief. “It’s okay, really it is! I’m just glad you’re here. Besides, the rest of the gang isn’t here yet and we can’t get in without Farkle. Our party is under his name.”

Joshua took her hand and spun her around. “As always, you look beautiful!”

“Hey guys!” Farkle called out, tugging Isadora along with him as he approached them.

“Hi Farkle,” Maya answered, releasing a deep breath like she had been holding it for hours.

“Are Lucas and Riley here yet?” Farkle asked.

“They should be coming soon,” Maya answered. “Riley had a wardrobe malfunction, her zipper got stuck and she had to resort to dress B.”

“I’ll send the three of you inside and wait for them here,” Farkle said.

“You don’t have to do that! We’re here!” Riley replied as she and Lucas raced up the stairs to meet them. “Sorry we’re late!”

“You’re exactly on time!” Mrs. Minkus assured them, joining them with her husband. She adjusted her black stole and looked them all over approvingly. “Very nice. Are you ready to go in?”

When they were inside and dinner was finished, the orchestra started to play songs to dance to instead of the classical music they had played through the meal. Isadora watched as Lucas and Riley started for the dance floor almost instantly while Joshua and Maya looked at each other shyly over their glasses of sparkling white grape juice like they wanted to dance but not in front of everybody watching them.

Isadora took a deep breath and plucked up all her courage. “Farkle, dance with me,” she said.

Farkle looked surprised. “Are you sure?”

“It isn’t like it’s a slow dance,” Isadora answered impatiently. “I know how to waltz!”

“Okay,” Farkle said. “If you’re sure. . .”

After a few dances, her feet were aching, so Farkle escorted her back to their table. Riley and Lucas followed them, their faces flushed pink.

The orchestra started to play another song, a guest singer came out and took the mic. Joshua looked at Maya and then stood up.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s dance!”

Isadora glanced at Farkle, Lucas and Riley to see what their reaction would be. But it was like they had already seen Joshua and Maya dance with each other a dozen or more times already.

While they took the dance floor, Isadora was struck by how much some of the words fit them.

They twirled around and around, Maya’s dress sparkled in the stage floor lights and Joshua’s smile shone brighter than the white light drenched ballroom.

**.**

It was open mic night at _Topanga’s_ and Joshua and Maya were the last ones to take the stage. Isadora suspected something magical was going to happen and she was right.

The instant Maya took the microphone with Joshua at the piano, the whole room was captivated. As soon as they started to sing together, it was like they were the only two in the whole entire cafe.

 _“Did you and Jupiter conspire to get me?”_ Joshua started, winking at Maya as he sang. _“I think you and the Moon and Neptune got it right ‘cause now I’m shining bright, so bright.”_

 _“And I see colors in a different way, you make what doesn’t matter fade to gray. Life is good and that’s the way it should be,”_ Maya added, sharing a secret smile with him as she sang and strummed along on a guitar. _“You make me sing oh, la, la, la. You make a girl go oh, I’m in love, love. Did you see that shooting star tonight? Were you dazzled by the same constellation?”_

_“Did you and Jupiter to conspire to get me?”_

And it felt like Joshua was really asking Maya that question.

**.**

“Are you sure Maya and Joshua are ever going to get together?” Isadora asked Farkle one afternoon on the beach in the Hamptons. It seems like they’re taking their sweet time doing it. Maya’s been 18 for a long time and your little plan at prom didn’t seem to work because all they did was _dance_.”

“I’m _sure_!” Farkle answered, grinning at her. “I think we’re just going to have to let it happen in their own time without any help from us.”

“The last time we talked about it you said Fate needed a little push,” Isadora reminded him. “They _should_ have gotten together by now!”

Farkle’s smile grew a little wider. “Isadora Smackle, who’d have ever guessed that you’re a little bit of a romantic?”

Isadora rolled her eyes. “Please, I’m merely speaking as a scientist. It’s velocity, they have to get together eventually. They’ve been accelerating towards each other long enough and there’s more than enough force for them to get together.”

Farkle just smiled some more and teased her for the rest of the afternoon about being a secret romantic.

**.**

Isadora had gone to Paris with the Minkus’s for the holidays. She was having an early breakfast with Farkle after not going to bed after spending the whole night celebrating the New Year with champagne and fireworks when Farkle got a text.

His face lit up when he checked his messages.

“Is everything okay?” Isadora asked, leaning over his shoulder to look at his iPhone.

“You’ll never believe what happened at midnight!” Farkle answered.

_“What happened!?”_

“Josh and Maya finally got together!” Farkle told her, showing her the text message he had received from Lucas Friar.

Isadora snatched the phone from her boyfriend to see for herself. “Well, it took them long enough!” she said, smiling too.

**.**

It was a beautiful day for a wedding. The kind of happily ever after that Riley said Maya had always dreamed about but wouldn’t hope she would get because hope was for suckers.

But it was the kind of ending Isadora Smackle had come to expect from the Matthews family. They fell in love young and lived out their lives together in a way that would ruin reality for everybody else.

Ava and Lucas and Maya were the lucky ones.

But she had gotten pretty lucky when it had come to Farkle.

The doors closed and the congregation stood, breaking Isadora’s thought process. A few seconds later, Maya was floating down the aisle towards Josh, radiant in all her bridal beauty.

Isadora stole a glance at the groom, something she liked to do at weddings and saw that he was smiling, not taking his eyes off his bride for a second. He was wearing the same kind of smile he had worn for Maya over and over the past half-a-dozen years but it was different at the same time too. It was a kind of forever smile that was for her and her alone.

They said their vows, holding hands and not looking away from each other for a second. There was seriousness to the moment but it was still filled with love and devotion.

And it all almost took Isadora’s breath away.

 

**.**

**Author's Note:**

> I realize that I had Josh play the piano in this installment but I have this head canon where He can play a bunch of different instruments. Also, Maya playing the guitar will be explained in a future. Second of all, I don’t know if I remembered Newton’s Law of Motion at all correctly, so please forgive any mistakes I made if you’re more familiar with it than I am. Third, the song that Maya and Josh dance to in this story is “Secret Love” covered by Mandy Moore for Mona Lisa Smile. The song they sang is “Bright” by Echosmith and the poetry that Josh is reciting to Maya in the library is a quote by r.m drake. If you a Pinterest account you might be familiar with his work.
> 
> I hope you’ll tell me what you thought about this installment. It gave me a lot of trouble, I struggled every single day to write it. 
> 
> And now for my confession, I am on the Asperger's spectrum. I was diagnosed when I was a senior in high school. I have different struggles than Smackle but it still hits close to home.
> 
> Until Next Time!


End file.
